THE BASICS:
- Records: MIT (2-4-1); Bates College (2-6)
- Scores: MIT 6, Bates College 1
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Fran O'Brien Field)
- The Lead: On Wednesday afternoon, the MIT baseball team defeated Bates College by a 6-1 final in non-conference action at Fran O'Brien Field. The win is the first in the series for MIT since 2007 as the Engineers now lead the all-time series by an 18-14-1 margin.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the first inning, sophomore Michael Finch (Brentwood, Tenn.) launched a two-out double to left and that was followed by an inside-the-park home run from senior Nick Aiello (Freehold, N.J.). Aiello's hit went to dead center and hit the outfield fence as he came around to score for the 2-0 advantage. MIT added a single run in the second when sophomore Tyler Godfrey (Rowley, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and then came home on a Cory O'Shea (Glen Allen, Va.) double to right center to make it 3-0.
- Behind four scoreless innings from senior starter Casey Bussone (Danvers, Mass.) and an RBI single by Godfrey in the fourth, the Engineers led by a 4-0 margin heading to the fifth. Sophomore Saketh Gabbita (Ashburn, Va.) came on in relief of Bussone in the fifth and threw a pair of hitless innings with one strikeout, while MIT added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to stake to the 6-0 lead.
- The Bobcats picked up a run in the eighth as Kevin Lucey came home on a wild pitch, followed by a perfect ninth inning from MIT reliever Graham Cartwright (La Jolla, Calif.) to seal the 6-1 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- The Engineers outhit Bates by a 10-4 margin as three players finished with multiple hits with Aiello, Godfrey and O'Shea. MIT also stole four bases, including a game-high two steals by junior Erik Anderson (Palos Verdes, Calif.).
- Gabbita earned the win for the Engineers to move to 1-0 overall, while Bates starter Teddie Nelson lasted four innings with four runs allowed and fell to 0-2 on the season.
UP NEXT:
- MIT is in action next when the team travels to Southern California for a six-game Spring Break trip. The trip opens on Saturday, March 19th as the Engineers take on Pomona-Pitzer in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Pacific Time at Alumni Field.
STAY CONNECTED:
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